The World is My Enemy
by Lordoftheghostking28
Summary: I will fight like I always have. Rated M for chapter 3 onward.
1. Chapter 1

**The World is my Enemy**

**XxXxXxXx **

**"_If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have_." **

**-Shadow the Hedgehog **

* * *

_ He missed racing his rival...someone who was a match for him. Someone who could run for at least twenty minutes without tiring. _

_"Shadow...! Wait...!" Silver gasped, trying to catch up with the more agile hedgehog. "I can't...ow...my side hurts..." _

_Shadow grit his teeth, biting back a harsh remark. He slowed and waited for the younger one to catch up, taking a seat on a small rock as he waited. _

_"Why are you so fast?" Silver wheezed as he finally caught up._

_ "I was created to be the Ultimate Life Form." Shadow bluntly stated. _

_"And yet why can't you use psychokinesis like me?"_

_ "Why don't you perform normal homing attacks like the rest of us?"_

_ Silver didn't say anything else. He glanced at the ground, running one hand over his unnaturally soft quills. Hedgehogs used them for protection, and yet he never in his life had to resort to brute force...Completely dependent on his power. _

_"I could learn," he said softly._

_ "I learned when I was very young. If you wanted to perfect the move, you should have started practicing years ago." Silver's gaze flicked from the dusty ground to Shadow's face. _

_The stronger hedgehog gave a small smirk, which didn't go unnoticed. _

_"It's not funny!" Silver growled. "I barely managed to survive my childhood years! Do you know what it's like? Living in constant fear for your life?! Trying to stop something that could not have been stopped until this moment?!" _

_Shadow held the smirk, not fazed with Silver's small outburst. _

_"It's _not_ funny!" Silver cried, his body glowing with the aqua aura that signaled his power. _

_The boulder that Shadow was sitting on flew into the air, taking him with it. He tumbled backwards and began freefalling, flipping just as the ground came up to greet him and landing perfectly on his feet. Effortlessly, he avoided Silver's predictable attack with the rock as he threw it at his head. As the small boulder whipped around to catch him in the back, Shadow simply conjured a Chaos Sphere and shattered it into gravel. _

_Without missing a beat, he hurled tiny bolts of electricity at the smaller hedgehog as he jumped into the air and curled into a ball, preparing to Homing Attack him. The most effective way to avoid damage from an attack as common as the one Shadow was executing was to curl up and return the force of the attack from the ground. _

_It was a simple defense strategy, yet it was also one Silver had never done. And as stunned as he was from the electricity striking his face and the ground around him, he wouldn't be able to retaliate with his power in time. _

_Shadow collided with Silver's chest, his sharp quills digging into the other's soft fur and ripping it away. Skin followed next, tearing a small cry from the white hedgehog. Shadow slammed his feet against Silver's stomach and springboarded backwards, shoving the other to the ground. _

_"What better time than to learn how to protect yourself? There is no constant threat anymore! You can learn something as simple as this in a matter of weeks." Shadow growled._

_ Silver struggled up, gasping for breath. His chest fur was stained red, tufts of white torn from his skin. He stumbled, landing on his backside heavily. Only with the aqua glow was he able to stand upright. _

_"Take those powers away and what are you? _Nothing_." _

_The glow faded, sending Silver falling back to the ground. The patches of blood staining his chest had grown, spreading from him to the ground and leaving the grass red. _

_"Pathetic," Shadow hissed. "Pathetic and _weak_."_

** XxXxXxXx**

Shadow sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. The past few moments of the dream were still with him, haunting and cruel...like the many times before.

He would never purposely harm Silver...even in fake matches of power against each other. The kid was strong in his own way, yet everything under the sun would catch his attention and throw off his concentration.

It had been at first a challenge for the Ultimate to train Silver a bit further in his power, giving him a wider range of offense and defense. Teaching him a Homing Attack had been one of their routines, but it was _slightly_ ineffective due to Silver's soft quills and the fact he got dizzy easily from spinning around.

Check that. It was _very_ ineffective. And teaching it to him had been a nightmare.

He glanced down towards the foot of his bed, where another mattress had been set up. Silver was still deeply asleep, buried under five thick quilts and every few minutes or so clenching his fists and muttering bits of sentences. The two hedgehogs lived in an old, abandoned building, in the back where heat was still available in the winters.

Silver had never seen nor felt the biting cold, and his thin pelt was more suited to the flaming heat of Iblis...that is, if it were still alive. He did not like winter. Not at all.

Shadow sighed and turned onto his side, trying to fall back asleep. It didn't come easily, as it was haunted with other memories of his past.

Mephiles the Dark...what had he said, again?

Something about Omega being the one to bring the Ultimate to the ground and turn him over to GUN?

Something about being locked in stasis for the rest of his immortal life?

Something like that.

Shadow shuddered, recalling the meeting with the demon. Well...what he spoke of didn't come true. Shadow had begun to assume it never would. Besides, Silver relied on him like a child to a father. Shadow couldn't blame him...the ivory hedgehog had never known his parents.

With another sigh, the ebony one tried once again to sleep for another few hours.

...

But...Why _would_ Omega and GUN try to hunt him down? It didn't make sense.

Shadow pushed that thought away.

...

What if he accidentally killed someone? Someone important? Or an entire group of people...? Like on the ARK...

Shadow pushed that thought away.

...

What if he really _did_ get captured? What would happen to Silver then?

Shadow bit his tongue so hard he drew blood as he pushed that thought away.

**XxXxXxXx**

** Yup.**

** There's the first chapter. I made stuff up as I went along. See if you can pick it out. **

**Anyway, how is this so far? Lots of stuff will happen in the later chapters, but this was mostly to draw people in! **

**And yes, this takes place in the future, after Sonic and co. have died. **

**Sorry. But it has Shadow! And Silver! And since Shadow is immortal, Yippie-Kai-Yey! **

**Hasta la Vista, Readers! **

**Lordoftheghostking28**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2 **

**Well, this is a chapter leading up to the good stuff that's going to come along shortly. The action will come after this chapter. **

**Also, I was writing this at midnight on New Years eve. So I was technically writing this story for a year. **

**XxXxXxXx **

"Shadow?"

_He was lost...down into the abyss...and..._he_ was waiting... _

_All the warmth in the world was gone. All the light shortly followed. All feeling other than pain was revoked._

_ Knives knit themselves into his flesh, the blades intertwining and twisting, ripping and tearing... _

_Shadow opened his mouth to scream, but his cry was cut short as a blade was forced into his mouth and down his throat, severing his tongue and drowning him in his own blood..._

"Shadow...?"

_And the worst part of it was he wasn't alone with_ him.

_ There was another...Silver... burning alive, over and over with no end...no beginning to death. He was screaming for mercy...for anything but the fires. _

_Anything. _

_Death in any other manor. _

_But Shadow could do nothing, only choke on the metallic taste of his own blood...and watch..._

"Shadow? Come on..."

_He had to watch as _he_ fueled the fire, turning it white hot and burning the innocent's soul away... _

_Silver's screams were reduced to shrill gargles as his skin boiled, melting into the fires and extinguishing it with his own life..._

"Shadow!"

The ebony's crimson eyes flared open only to see Silver's golden orbs staring back. "Are you ok? You were saying something..."

"No, I wasn't," Shadow objected. "I was just...talking to myself."

"Oh..." Silver said, walking towards the door. "I saw a pond the other day...it looked like it was covered in glass! Why? It looked like it could hold my weight! Can we go to it? It was kind of like at Eggman's base...but that glass was different..."

Shadow blinked, not exactly comprehending the younger hedgehog's words. "There's a pond, and it's covered in glass!" Silver repeated.

"Do you mean to tell me that you've never seen ice before?" Shadow asked, slowly sitting up and pulling on his shoes that he kept at his bedside.

"What's ice?"

"Water will freeze. It's...well...let's go." Shadow sighed.

Silver levitated himself into the air, a huge grin on his face. Shadow rolled his eyes and headed to the door, thinking that the kid behind him was too old for going ice skating with a chaperon. Then again...the kid never really had a normal childhood.

And he had no idea what ice was.

It took them a few minutes to reach the nearest pond, mostly because Silver still didn't know how to navigate through snow and ended up walking in a zigzag pattern. It took five minuets to walk a good ten meters.

"Just follow my footprints or better yet levitate and stop goofing off. You want to get to the pond sometime this year, right?" Shadow growled.

Silver nodded and put his psychokinesis to work, hovering over the snow and circling over the older hedgehog. "So what's ice like?"

"You're going to have to wait and see."

"Is it cold?"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Why do I feel like the parent of a five year old..."

Much to his relief, the pond came within sight sooner than he expected. Silver shot off towards it, hovering above the middle of it and, very slowly, very carefully, put one foot on the ice.

"Uh...will it break? What's underneath it?" he asked.

Shadow sighed. "Why am I doing this..."

Silver had put both feet on the ice and was now walking very carefully across it, every now and then nearly losing his balance. "Hey, it's slippery! This is unbelievable!"

"That what you're doing there is an insult to 'Ice Skating'." Shadow said bluntly.

"Hey, I can run in place!"

The older hedgehog facepalmed.

"This is amazing! Why didn't you show me glass water sooner?" Silver continued, executing a spin and losing his balance.

"It's called ice. And I thought you hated winter and wanted nothing to do with it."

"Well, that was before I realized it was so interesting! You make everything sound boring, and so I assumed winter was boring, and it's also cold, therefore, I hated it until this moment."

Shadow facepalmed again. "So you like winter now?"

"Yeah, if we can do this! What else can you do with ice? Can you...sit on it and push it down a hill? It's slippery, so can you go for a ride on it?" Silver skidded across the pond and hit a patch of snow, sending him toppling over and front flipping twice.

"Close. The human children call that 'sledding' and it's done on a strip of plastic called a sled or a snowboard. I personally don't see any use in that action, but they seem to enjoy it."

"Can we go?" Silver grinned, flying back over to Shadow. "I can learn! And afterwards I'll train with you! You said not two days ago that my Homing Attacks would be the death of me."

Shadow cast the childish hedgehog a glance. Silver was covered in snow that blended in with his pristine fur, his thin pelt puffed up against the cold and the strip of downy fluff around his neck looked like a bizarre scarf. And yet, he looked like he was actually enjoying himself for once. Shadow had never really seen the kid having any type of fun and since Blaze left he had been almost determined not to smile.

" 'Can we go'?" Shadow echoed.

"Yeah!"

" 'Can _we_ go'?" Shadow repeated.

"Why not? Besides, we could find a hill that no one else is on, and we could sled for a while! And after that, I'll train harder than ever! Come on, Shadow! You've never been sledding before, have you?"

"I have more important things to do." Shadow growled.

"Like what?"

"I need to find Omega."

"Why? I thought he vanished."

"Exactly. I need to find him." Shadow turned and began trudging through the snow. "You find your hill and sled all you want. Just be back to the house before dark and don't get lost."

_ Great. I _do_ sound like a parent of a five year old..._

"Oh...ok," Silver's quills drooped slightly. "Come back soon."

"This won't take long." Shadow said before skating away, melting the snow underneath his hover shoes.

He stopped at the apartment, throwing open a drawer and drawing out a purple Chaos Emerald. "I should be back by nightfall." he muttered to himself, glancing around for a second. The feeling that he was forgetting something was almost overpowering.

Shadow mentally smacked himself and dug through the drawer he had opened, drawing out a Desert Eagle and checking the ammunition. One small pistol remained, a tiny standard 9mm handgun for Silver if he ever needed it, which Shadow doubted.

But still, better safe than sorry. Gun in hand, Shadow raised the Emerald into the air and said, "Chaos Control!"

He vanished in a flash of light.

**XxXxXxXx**

Silver found the perfect sledding hill nearby the small pond. But since he had no strip of plastic to use as a sled, he cut a square of ice from the frozen water and carried it to the top of the hill.

"Oh man..." Silver grinned madly, setting up the slab of ice. He dug tiny groves into the sides so he could hold onto something as he prepared for the wild ride. That done, he lay on his stomach on the slab of ice and held on tightly as he pushed off with his left foot.

"This is boring. Why do people do this?" Silver muttered as the ice sled began sliding forward at less than one mile an hour. "Humans must be incredibly bored if they want to do this with their spare tiII_IIIME_!"

Silver held on for dear life as the sled picked up speed and shot down the hill, narrowly missing rocks and trees. He wasn't able to concentrate to use his psychokinesis, as the sled was moving too fast along with everything else around him. He just held onto the side of the slab of ice for his life as he shot past many obstacles. He had reached the bottom of the hill, but the sled kept going, flying towards the pond.

Silver managed a scared laugh...sledding was downright exhilarating.

His laugh was cut off as he realized he was headed straight towards the hole he had cut into the ice to carve out his sled.

"No! No! _No_!" Silver screamed, rolling off the sled and onto the ice. His momentum carried him to the shore, slamming him into a small rock. His ice sled crashed into the hole he had carved, cracking in half and sinking into the freezing water.

"Ow..." Silver muttered, barely managing to crawl onto all fours. His side burned with pain from colliding with the rock. "That...was awesome...!"

He managed to get to his feet, laughing about the past thirty seconds. "Why hasn't Shadow shown me this sooner?"

He carved another block of ice out of the pond and headed back to the top of the hill.

**XxXxXxXx**

Shadow stood on a small hill, watching the large building on the horizon. Omega had to be there...where else could he have gone?

After all, GUN's protective walls were enough to keep out any outside threat. Shadow took a deep breath and silently activated his hover shoes, hovering over the grass towards the fortress. He would have to work extremely quickly, quietly and effectively.

One wrong move...and it could be over before he started.

GUN may not yet be his enemy, but one wrong decision could quickly change that.

** XxXxXxXx **

**I CANNOT STOP WRITING THIS! SECOND UPDATE IN 2 DAYS! WHOOT!  
**

**I don't know if you can tell, but I like sledding. **

**A lot. **

**Although I mostly prefer snowboarding. **

**Anyway, stuff happens next chapter! I hope you guys are liking this! **

**Hasta la Vista, Readers! **

**Lordoftheghostking28**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3 **

**The rating jumps to M from here on out, just a warning.  
**

**XxXxXxXx**

Shadow crouched in a corner, out of sight of a nearby security camera. He had been thinking about what Mephiles had said...the meeting with the demon from what seemed so long ago was hazy, yet he could remember almost every word.

But something still puzzled him. Iblis was sealed away. The humans and GUN hadn't turned on him like Mephiles hypothesized... Maybe that was one ending.

Perhaps there was another.

Shadow darted down the hall and pressed his back to a door and waited for another camera to make a sweep. He timed it right and continued running down the hall, pausing at a door marked with an AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL sign. He opened it and slipped inside, stumbling on a dimmed, empty lab. On the walls hung glass showcases, each one containing a different, deadly looking gun. A piece of paper was taped to each case, with the word 'PROTOTYPE' scrawled on it along with a number.

"What is this...?" Shadow muttered to himself, finding a lone folder sitting on a table.

It was stamped with the red heading 'TOP SECRET' and was about to overflow with reports and other papers. He carefully drew one out and read it over.

_Prototype 290-299X complete. Effective. Jhonson, Dale, Hopkins, West, Katts_.

The names of the scientists who made the weapon, maybe? He pulled another sheet out, replacing it with the other.

_Prototype 290-300X complete. Effective. Smith, Ricee, Galelo, Hals, Rhyab, Amir._

Shadow drew out another paper, expecting it to resemble the others. His eyes widened at the names.

_Prototype 290-301X incomplete. Ineffective. Cannot yet penetrate a Chaos field. Can penetrate all other forms of mental or physical attack. Shadow, Silver._

The names listed...could they be a hit list...?

"Two-ninety dash three-oh-one..." Shadow put the papers back and raced through the lab, trying to locate the gun mentioned in the file.

He stopped at a large gun that ever so slightly resembled a shotgun. The barrel of the weapon had no opening, just a bright orange orb on the end. Tiny streaks of red trailed up and down the gun towards the trigger. The metal plating on it was dark, nearly blending in with the lab's walls. Shadow reached for the glass case and unlatched it, carefully drawing the gun out of its case. It was surprisingly light for something so bulky looking...

The lab door slammed open. A flashlight cut around the room as a voice screamed, "FREEZE!"

"Dammit..." Shadow muttered, dropping the gun with a clatter.

He dodged a bullet as it was directed towards him, shattering the now empty gun case. He darted around one GUN guard and nearly ran into another, catapulting himself over their heads and landing safely in the hall.

"Get him!" one of the guards shouted.

More bullets narrowly missed their mark. Shadow darted down the hall, destroying security cameras as he went. A door outlined in black and yellow stripes caught his attention, and he destroyed the lock with a Chaos Spear, vanishing inside. With another spear to the handle on his side, he sealed the door.

It was completely dark. Shadow had no idea if he was in a closet-sized room or a full scale one. All he could do was hold completely still and listen to the blood rushing in his ears. Voices sounded outside the door, but they quickly passed.

Silence. Silence and darkness.

Shadow took a deep breath and realized that the side of his head was beginning to throb with pain. He reached towards his temple and felt liquid coating his glove, soaking through the fabric. Did the guards actually manage to hit him? He was losing his touch. The wound felt minor, but Shadow knew it would bleed. Probably a lot. The bullet must have just grazed him, taking off the skin in a very concentrated area.

Shadow held one hand to his wound and another in front of him as he slowly made his way forward. His footsteps echoed...as though he was in a wide open space. He continued forward, brushing one foot out in front of him to make sure he would step on a solid surface. His hand brushed against something cold and metal. Shadow instantly drew back, shocked that something would just be sitting in the middle of the room. He didn't move for another few seconds, waiting for whatever it was to make any sort of move. It didn't.

"I must be losing more blood than I thought..." Shadow growled inwardly.

Two red orbs suddenly lit up the empty space. Shadow stumbled backwards and threw a Chaos Spear, missing by centimeters. The red orbs continued to glow, symbols and designs starting to take up the signal nearby. Tiny lights flickered to life on the machine, all fixed directly on Shadow.

He knew this machine.

"Omega?!"

"ELIMINATE!"

Shadow barely had time to react as the robot began open firing. He managed to Chaos Control himself behind the machine, buying him some time. He jumped into the air and slammed both feet into Omega's back, forcing the machine to the ground.

"Omega! It's me! Shadow! Cease fire!" some of the blood had dripped into his eye.

Shadow could barely see and he felt light headed. Thankfully, Omega went from all-out assault mode to normal, standing up again and folding the guns back into his arms to be replaced by claw-like hands.

"SHADOW. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE. I BELIEVED YOU HAD LEFT GUN." he said in flat tones.

"I did. I just needed to talk to you." Shadow said. "And I have more questions now than I came with."

"WHAT IS IT."

"Would you ever seek to destroy me? If GUN commanded?"

"SHADOW. I HAVE BEEN, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, YOUR FRIEND." Omega responded.

"What if they tried to rewire you? To wipe your memory of me and replace it with something else?"

"THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE."

"Good to know." Shadow muttered. "What do you know about the guns? In the lab...one of them had my name on it."

Omega didn't respond.

"Omega...what are the guns for? They had listed Silver's name too."

"THAT IS CLASSIFIED,"

"Why?"

"I AM NOT AUTHORIZED TO TELL YOU."

"Are they planning something? In case they can't control me? In case they need to KILL me?! Do they hunt down and kill every agent that leaves their walls...that goes rogue?! Am I next? Is Silver next? Are they planning to destroy everything I have left in order to get to me?!" Shadow stumbled, landing on one knee and clutching at his head.

"SCANNING," Omega reported. A small red laser traveled over Shadow's head, much to his annoyance.

"Omega, stop. I'm fine..."

"SHADOW. YOU NEED MEDICAL TREATMENT AT ONCE."

"And where would I get that? GUN? I think not." he struggled back to his feet, feeling incredibly unstable. Had his wound been more severe than he imagined? "Omega...what are they planning?"

Silence.

"Omega, so help me, I will tear the information out of you. I have to protect Silver...at least give him enough information to survive. If he's targeted by GUN, he needs to be warned."

Silence.

"Fine. I'll find the answers myself." Shadow stumbled back towards the door, eyes on the dimly lit floor.

Dark smudges were barely visible on the ground...his blood...

_Dammit. Why didn't I do this sooner..._ Shadow pulled the purple Emerald out of his quills and focused its energy.

He gave a choked gasp as the energy tore through his arm and up his neck, targeting the bullet wound over his eye. His vision turned bright, blinding as the sun. A loud ringing plagued his hearing and he felt his knees collide with the ground. All at once, it ended. His vision cleared and the ringing in his ears died down. A small headache was throbbing over his eyes, but it was a minor burden to carry.

Shadow stood and faced Omega again, Emerald in hand. "I don't know if I'll be seeing you again." he said.

Omega said nothing.

Shadow reached the door, tossing a weak Chaos Spear at the hinges. The door collapsed outward and he exited the room and turned right.

"I've got to find more information." Shadow muttered to himself. "I won't let GUN threaten me ever again."

He turned a corner and nearly ran into a bipedal robot at least three times taller than him. In its hands were a large machine gun and a rocket launcher.

"Shit," Shadow muttered before it opened fired. He dodged the slow rockets easily and maneuvered around the bullets, eventually building up enough momentum for a damaging Homing Attack. Two hits were all it took to down the robot.

"Over here, men!"

Shadow bit back a string of curses and turned to see a group of soldiers standing about six meters away from him. Half of them were young, in their late twenties. Their leader was a middle aged man with graying hair, holding the prototype 290-301X.

"Shadow the Hedgehog," he nodded curtly.

"Old man," Shadow glared.

"What are you doing back here? Trying to steal our information? We can't have that. So you have an option... come with us quietly and live, or I can watch the life leaving your immortal eyes as I lodge a few bullets in your heart."

"I'm here for answers." Shadow growled. "I want to know why that gun had Silver's name on it."

"I will explain everything if you come with me."

"I read it myself...that gun isn't enough to take me down. It's not yet effective against the Ultimate Life Form." Shadow took a couple of steps forward, causing the young soldiers to draw back slightly.

"Not yet. But you wouldn't want these young lives on your conscience, would you? More to add to the list of the dead?"

Shadow barred his teeth.

"Ah, struck a nerve, did I?" the commander snickered. "And it's not completely useless. It can be used for...hunting down a certain white hedgehog, perhaps."

"Don't you dare..." Shadow took a few steps toward the man, but he didn't get far.

The man swung the barrel of the 290-301X around and fired. Shadow jumped and shot a Chaos Spear at it hoping the information in the folder was correct. It wouldn't be able to break through any Chaos based attacks...

The spear connected solidly with the blast and exploded. The energy blew the soldiers back, throwing them against the wall. Shadow was tossed into the corner of the hallway, his head snapping down as it hit the roof and the air rushing out of his lungs as his back connected with the wall. Stunned, he fell to the ground.

" 'Not very effective' my ass..." the commander growled.

Shadow glanced up, coughing, as the human struggled up from the ground. The 290-301X wasn't damaged in the slightest, and the orange sphere was aimed directly at Shadow's head. The ebony hedgehog continued coughing, specks of red flicking onto the ground. He wouldn't have time to heal himself until he escaped.

"I'll see you in Hell, Shadow the Hedgehog." the commander grinned wickedly.

He fired again.

Shadow managed to raise a hand to protect himself with another Chaos Spear. A deafening explosion rocked the halls, throwing him into the wall again and blasting the commander backward. Shadow was barely conscious now, his vision clouding dangerously. He couldn't hear anything but a loud ringing in his left ear and his right was barely picking up traces of shouts. Blood welled in his throat and his side burned with pain. Something was cutting into his wrist, something sharp...

"SHADOW. RESPOND."

Shadow blinked as Omega hurriedly picked him up, carrying him through the debris and stunned GUN guards. He was safe now...? No, not safe yet.

"I'm..." Shadow coughed again, each spasm making him wince. "...fine..."

"USE THE EMERALD, SHADOW. THAT IS AN ORDER."

Shadow pulled the Emerald from his quills for the second time in less than ten minutes and grit his teeth, waiting for the painful, yet healing, energy. He didn't have to wait long before the Chaos power shot up both his arms, targeting an area in his chest with pain as though it were cracking his ribs instead of healing them. He squeezed his eyes shut and snarled. More energy shot down his right leg and closed up a wound with needles of power. The final stab of energy was directed at his ear, making it pop painfully as it restored his hearing.

"All right...Omega...you can...put me down now..." Shadow hissed, struggling to draw breath.

Something was still jabbing his wrist. As Omega slowed and allowed the hedgehog onto his own feet again, Shadow felt dread drop in his stomach. His right Inhibitor Ring was shattered, a piece of it still dug into his wrist slightly. Why the Chaos power hadn't healed it, he didn't know.

"Omega..." Shadow said slowly. "I need you to return to the hall you rescued me in and find the other pieces. I can take care of myself here."

"AFFIRMATIVE." Omega said. "I WILL BE BACK MOMENTARILY."

He hovered off, leaving Shadow in a room that resembled a warehouse. Boxes were stacked up in every corner, labeled with a giant 'G' surrounded by palm leaves.

A sound in the hall caught his attention. Shadow walked to the entrance of the room and calmly waited as soldiers blocked his exit, all of them holding machine guns aimed at his bloodstained chest.

"This is the only way out of that room." one of them stated calmly. "We can easily close off this exit and flood the room with a deadly neurotoxin. Or you can cooperate with us."

Shadow smirked. "I don't want to fight you."

"And we don't want to fight you. So make it easy on all of us and come quietly."

"If only it were that simple." Shadow took a few steps toward them but stopped suddenly, hunching over and gripping his right wrist. "...What?!"

"What's happening, sir?" one of the soldiers asked, turning towards the commander.

Shadow barely suppressed the urge to Chaos Blast something. His right arm was tingling with unused, unchecked power, so much so that was threatening to override his other Inhibitor Rings. It had never done this before...

"Stand back, men...he's plotting something." the commander ordered.

"Get away! I can't control my power!" Shadow shouted, eyes darting around wildly for something to destroy. Something harmless...like the boxes.

A red spear tinged with purple flew from his hand, striking some of the nearby containers and destroying them instantly. Shadow turned and did the same to another group of boxes, these blasting back to the wall and exploding, throwing bits and pieces of metal at both the GUN agents and the out of control hedgehog. Shadow felt metal bite into his back and focused on the pain. He felt weak from his outburst of power, but he didn't dare show it.

He slowly raised his head and glanced towards the guards. One was supporting his comrade's limp body. Blood trailed from the man's eyes, along with other fluids, his sight long gone even if he had survived. His friend was shouting, screaming for him to get up.

Shadow stood, stunned. _I killed someone_...

The commander of the group turned back to the ebony hedgehog. "You are a killer. You will always be a killer. You are a weapon, and you will be destroyed!" he raised his gun and began firing.

Shadow turned and darted into the smoking remains of the warehouse, eyes darting around, trying to find some sort of escape...

There. A small window. At least thirty feet up.

Shadow braced himself and Homing Attacked the wall, bouncing off it and hitting another. He kept it up, slowly but surely making his way towards the window.

"STOP! STOP HIM!" the commander screeched.

A bullet narrowly missed Shadow's face, striking the wall next to him instead. He didn't uncurl from a ball and kept working his way up. With a satisfying SMASH, the window shattered. Shadow uncurled and began free-falling the short distance, executing a flip and landing perfectly on his feet. He stumbled off, left hand clenched around his right wrist and the remains of his Inhibitor Ring.

He didn't have enough energy to Chaos Control. This was going to be one long journey home.

**XxXxXxXx**

Silver had returned home long ago, exhausted from the thrill of sledding. He had literally walked into his home, shut the door, and curled up under his quilts. He hadn't moved since.

He was awoken by a shuddering. Thinking that Shadow had accidentally kicked his bed, he didn't say anything. But when it persisted, Silver unwillingly pulled himself from his sanctuary and glanced around.

No one. Nothing.

"Shadow?" he yawned.

No reply.

The calm before the storm.

With a shatter, the window broke. Silver didn't have time to react as a giant metal claw shot into the room and latched itself around his middle. It pulled him out the window, catching his arms on the bits of broken glass still in the pane and ripping red lines into his skin.

"Put...me...down!" the hedgehog hollered, his body glowing with an aqua aura.

The claws around his body loosened and he escaped, crushing the metal of his would-be prison with his mind. Silver landed on the snowy ground, heart thudding hard from the unexpected wake-up call. Not too far away were two more robots, these larger and more powerful than the one he had just fought. Silver braced himself as they got closer and focused harder than he ever had, remembering what Shadow had taught him.

One one the threats was lifted into the air and smashed into the other. Silver tore a limb off of one and beat them with it, reducing them both to a pile of scrap.

"Take that!" he laughed.

His celebration didn't last long. A small army seemed to be marching over the hill, weapons at the ready. Silver turned to see more soldiers behind him. He had been so focused on the robots he didn't see them sneak up. He faced the closer group, getting into a fighting stance. The soldiers all aimed their weapons at him and fired. Silver easily caught the bullets and flung them back at their own guns, destroying most of them in the first round. The remaining soldiers fired again, only to have the same result happen.

"Amazing mental power." a voice said behind him. Silver spun around to see the other group not five feet away, these holding similar weapons.

"He'd be a perfect specimen." one of them muttered.

"I wonder how much mental endurance he has... what will make him snap."

"No doubt the scientists will have fun with him."

Silver stepped back, glancing around worriedly. He didn't want to hurt living beings, just the robots and guns they tried to use. "What do you want?"

"The files were right when they referred to him as naive."

"I wonder how much physical damage he can take before giving in."

Silver backed up again, only to walk into the grasp of another soldier. Strong hands wrapped around his neck and arms, holding him in place as a metal collar was strapped together under his chin. Silver panicked, twisting around as the blue glow surrounded him again. His quills weren't sharp enough to penetrate the guard's armor, but Silver's psychokinesis snapped his arms in half, forcing him to release him.

The guard fell to the ground, screaming. Silver followed shortly after.

The collar around his neck tightened and energy ripped through his body, making him lose control of his muscles and fall to the ground. Silver shrieked, a few of the guards backing up from the loud, unexpected sound. The pain dulled and the collar loosened slightly, allowing him breath again. The ivory hedgehog curled on the snowy ground, gasping for breath.

"He's nothing like the other."

"He won't survive a week in the lab."

"Let's get him back to base."

Someone grabbed his arms, lifting him onto his feet. Silver instantly faced his captor and forced him away, the blue energy coursing through his body...

The collar tightened and a harsher shock was administrated. Silver's scream was silent, the only sounds he made were choking whimpers.

"Not very smart, this one."

"Every time he tries to use that power of his, he's going to get the same result."

Someone else hauled him to his feet and began dragging him. Silver grit his teeth and waited for the collar to unclench before he began to struggle wildly, eventually slipping from the soldier's grasp. He stumbled backwards and turned, running. He didn't make it very far before another robot blocked his path, this one the biggest of them all. Silver took a couple of steps back, unsure of how to fight. Without his psychokinesis, he was very vulnerable.

The robot swung a giant fist at the small hedgehog in front of him. Silver jumped out of the way, feeling one of the giant fingers graze his leg. He made a split second decision and darted onto the robot's fist, climbing up its arm towards its head. He curled into a ball and launched himself at its neck, snapping it clean off as his feet made contact with it and pushed off.

Silver tumbled back onto the ground, landing hard on his side as the robot tilted and fell.

"Someone shoot him!"

Silver felt his stomach drop as someone hefted a strange looking gun. It had an orange orb for a muzzle...something most guns don't have.

"Do you surrender?" came the one question.

Silver scrambled up and held eye contact with the wielder of the gun, slowly backing away.

"Why?!" he shouted.

He never got his answer. A burst of energy shot from the orb, flying towards him at a speed impossible to dodge. Silver felt it connect with his chest as he was thrown backwards, hitting the ground and skidding a short while. He was faintly aware that it was difficult to breathe and the world was growing dark. He couldn't move, momentarily paralyzed by the blast.

"Got him. The gun works great." came a voice.

"Get him in the jet, then."

Someone was lifting him, trying to drag him away. Silver twisted weakly in the enemy's grasp, muttering, "No...no..."

"Still has some fight in him, eh?"

"I can stamp it out."

"Then go ahead."

Silver was dropped back onto the ground, his face pressed into the cold snow. Something connected solidly with his side, ripping a soft "Oof!" from him and squashing the air out of his lungs. Another kick to the same side. Silver opened his mouth, gasping for breath, only to have someone stuff a handful of snow into his throat.

Another kick to his side. Silver coughed up bloodstained snow.

Another kick.

Another kick.

Another...

"He's had enough!"

Silver couldn't move. He could feel broken ribs grinding against each other every time he took a shallow breath, searing pain racking his body. A soft whimper escaped him as someone grabbed his arms and prepared to lift him again. He didn't resist.

"So you finally know where your place is, hedgehog. That's a start."

A pain-choked wail ripped itself from Silver's throat, causing the soldier to lay him back on the ground. "I can't move him like this."

"I'll take care of it." came a gruff voice. Something slammed into Silver's temple, and the pain was slightly lifted as he fell into darkness.

**XxXxXxXx **

Shadow finally wrenched the last piece of metal from his back and threw it into the snow. He kept staggering onward, feeling as though at any second he'd fall and never get up. Before he had so much unchecked Chaos energy...now he felt drained and defenseless, something he was not used to.

A frozen pond came into sight. Shadow forced himself to walk faster...was this the one nearby the abandoned building he and Silver shared? The ice near the shore was thin, as though someone had cut a slab of it and the water underneath began to freeze. Silver must have used ice as a sled, then.

Shadow was close to home. It seemed like forever before the building came into sight.

But...something was wrong... One of the windows shattered.

The window leading to the one heated room that had no doubt gone cold by now.

Shadow knelt by the glass shards and found footprints...Silver's. Tiny flecks of red were dotted around the prints, most likely from the glass. Shadow stumbled on, in a daze. Silver's prints trailed from the building to the twisted remains of a small machine, a huge, deactivated robot that was lying on its side nearby. Two more contraptions were lying a little ways away, smashed into each other.

There was a struggle. There were at least a hundred prints smeared around, as though Silver had been brought down by force...

Shadow stared around the fight scene, something catching his eyes.

Red.

Smeared around on the snow as though Silver had been writhing in pain. Shadow stooped and picked up a clump of crimson stained fur, fury boiling inside him. Nearby was a bullet, sunk into the snow.

GUN.

Shadow's vision blurred as power shot through his body, building in his right arm. With a feral scream, the energy buildup exploded, melting the snow around him and searing the grass with a Chaos Blast. Suddenly weakened, Shadow fell to one knee, gasping.

He slowly stood and headed back to his home, which was as cold as the winter outside.

Nothing had been disturbed besides the window...Although a piece of paper had been stapled to the back of the door. Shadow ripped it off and scanned it, fury rising for the second time in his chest.

_Turn yourself in and the rat is spared. Come quickly, we cannot guarantee he will live much longer in our "care". _

_You are a killer. _

_If you don't answer to your crimes, his death is your doing._

**XxXxXxXx **

**So the good stuff starts here. **

**Well, I don't know about 'good stuff', more like horrorful-ness and things like that.**

** Remember to review, suggestions are appreciated, ect. **

**Hasta la Vista, Readers! **

**Lordoftheghostking28**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

** XxXxXxXx **

"NO!"

Shadow slammed a fist into the wall, punching through it and leaving splinters of wood in his fingers. He barely noticed the pain, fury welling up inside of him. Chaos Energy was building up again, and he didn't restrain himself from sending a blast of scorching power throughout the room, destroying everything including the note left by the GUN soldiers.

Shadow sank to the ground, listening to the crackle of a small fire that had started somewhere around his demolished bedstand. He had to go after Silver. The kid would be killed otherwise. The soldiers were using him as bait, and if Shadow made one wrong move, they would both be killed...

...Or worse.

Shadow pulled the purple Emerald from his quills once again and stood, mustering up the energy to Chaos Control. Omega would help...he was sure of it. Mephiles couldn't have been more wrong about the robot...could he?

Shadow held the Emerald over his head and declared, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

**XxXxXxXx**

Silver couldn't feel anything but pain.

It was as though knives were being slowly driven into his chest and then wrenched out. His neck was being squeezed...he could barely breathe. He couldn't open his eyes. All he could see was darkness...

_He could see Mephiles. The demon was standing in front of him. If he had a complete face, he would have been grinning. Madly._

_"Hello, Silver. It's been a long time."_

_Silver couldn't move, even in his mind. He felt as though he was tied to a wall by some unknown force, unable to do anything besides take shallow breaths. Mephiles drew closer, hovering over the ground. Silver wanted him to go away. He had never felt so helpless...so exposed to whatever Mephiles was planning. Although, death would be a blessing to agony like this._

_"The humans brought you down without so much as batting an eyelash. I'm disappointed in you, Silver. I always thought you could do better." Mephiles said. He reached one hand out towards the ivory hedgehog and with one finger, tapped him on his forearm._

_It was as though a fire had been set on his skin. Silver couldn't pull away...couldn't protest. His breathing quickened slightly, but he couldn't scream. Something was blocking his voice. Something in his throat..._

_"Here you are, at my mercy. You are in luck. I had always planned to meet you face to face and challenge you outright. After you had fallen, I would have drawn your death out...painfully. But you are unfortunately not in any position to battle. I shall revise my plans."_

_Silver felt a single tear trace its way down his muzzle. But instead of it tracing its way down the side of his chin, it curled around to the back of his head. Almost as though he were lying down..._

_"Are you afraid?" Mephiles drew closer, his featureless face not an inch away. "You should be."_

_Silver tried to move. All he could manage was a slight leg twitch, which would not be very effective against the dark demon. Mephiles only laughed at his attempt to escape._

_"I will cause you the pain Shadow caused me," he said, lowering his voice. "I will torture you until you manage to find your voice, no matter how long it takes. I will have you screaming for mercy as your life leaves your veins. And I will deny it. Do you know why?" _

_Silver couldn't respond. Mephiles continued anyway. "Because you had a choice, just like I will. I will deny you death, only a living hell. You denied me one simple task...finding and destroying the Iblis Trigger. You made your decision long ago." _

_Another tear slipped down Silver's face. His breathing hitched again in fear, making Mephiles chuckle. _

_"Let's begin, shall we?" he said, his tone almost gleeful. _

_Silver shut his eyes and prepared for the agony. The suffering. It didn't disappoint him. Mephiles only had to place a finger on his side. _

_It burned, the pain boiling the skin and melting it away. Yet Silver knew it was all in his mind; Mephiles wasn't burning away his skin...yet. The agony lifted. Silver slowly cracked his eyelids open, tears blurring them. His breathing had turned ragged and unsteady. _

_"This is only the beginning." the demon promised, flexing crystalline fingers. _

_Silver tried to say something. He really did. Air didn't even leave his lungs to work his voice. It was as though blocked. His psychokinesis was all but stomped out. His struggle only made Mephiles burst out in laughter again. _

_"Pitiful! I can see why the cat girl took you under her wing when she first met you! You would be dead by now if it wasn't for her!" _

_Silver's left fist clenched and his eyes glared hatred beyond the pain. Mephiles stopped laughing at once and stared the ivory hedgehog in the eyes. _

_"Oh, struck a nerve, did I?"_

_ Silver returned his gaze. _

_"I am so very sorry," Mephiles said before clamping both hands over Silver's head. _

_The excruciating agony turned his vision bright. Everywhere Mephiles made contact with his skin was on white-hot fire, bolts of electric pain targeting his mind. Silver was screaming inwardly, his mouth wide open in a silent cry. Tears streamed down his face now, accompanied by a few involuntary muscle spasms. He could hear his own heart pounding erratically, breathing all but nonexistent. All he knew was pain._

"Is he waking up...?"

_It lifted. Silver tried to sink into the darkness that was clouding his vision, willing the agony to stop. Mephiles called him back with a slight brush against his stomach, jolting him awake._

_"You miss her?" he taunted._

_Silver couldn't reply._

_"I miss her too. I so very wanted to make you watch as I... Had my way with her."_

_Fury shot back into Silver's system, making him clench his fist again. He tensed up one knee, bending slightly against the hard surface he was against. He wanted to kill Mephiles. He wanted to end it, no matter what the cost..._

_"Oh?" the demon said, amused. "Did I anger the cute, naive little hedgehog again?"_

_Silver mouthed something, but his captor neither paid any attention or he didn't understand. Instead, he drew back a slight bit, eyes still glued to Silver. _

_"Would you like to see her again?" _

_He just glared, not blinking._

_ "I'll take that as a yes," Mephiles' dark form began to shift. _

_Quills drew back into his head to be replaced with crystalline fur. His eye shape changed, knitting itself together to the top of his muzzle. His ears and tail grew longer, and the tuft of diamond fur on his chest expanded into a purple robe. His legs were coated in white gems. A twisted, evil version of Blaze the Cat stood in front of the captive hedgehog. The only thing that hadn't changed were 'her' eyes...still the same acidic green surrounded by vibrant pink. _

_"I like this form," Mephiles laughed, slowly approaching Silver again. _

_The ivory hedgehog tried his best to squirm away, only succeeding in opening and closing his left fist and squeezing his eyes shut._

_ "Look at me when I'm talking to you." _

_Silver didn't. _

_"I said..." a clawed hand gripped his jaw, shooting fireworks of agony through his head. "...Look at me when I'm talking to you!" _

_Silver's eyes rolled back into his head as he willed his consciousness away, wishing for anything but what was taking place at the moment. Mephiles let go of his jaw, his eyes boring holes into Silver's half closed ones. _

"He's stronger than we thought. Someone get a sedative."

_"Blaze pitied you. She was only your friend because you had none. You would have died had you not met her, and she gave her life for you, you insignificant, puny weakling!" Mephiles pressed both hands to Silver's chest. _

_The worst pain the ivory one had ever felt began to tear through his heart, ripping a desperate, heart-wrenching, strangled whimper from his throat._

"Doctor, he's conscious,"

Silver's eyelids flew open. The pain from Mephiles still remained with him, but it was dulled and distant now. All he could see was a blinding light. All he could hear were shrill beeps and blips. He opened his mouth to scream, only to find it blocked by a thick tube lodged in the base of his throat, trailing down his windpipe into his lungs.

Panic rose in his mind, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He moved his arms, tearing wires and tubes from them in his wild struggle. He reached up and tore more from his head, ignoring the pain. All he knew was fear.

His thrashing was cut short as something moved in his chest, grinding against broken bones. Silver glanced at his side, another silent scream leaving him. Tubes were jammed into his broken side, a rib jutting through his skin. Silver gripped the tube leading into his throat with both hands, trying desperately to dislodge it first. A horrible, ripping feeling burned in his lungs as he did so.

"Stop him! He's going to kill himself!"

Strong hands wrapped around Silver's wrists, pinning them at his sides. Someone else pinned his legs, keeping him from twisting away. The blaring machines in the background were incredibly loud, alerting a critical status.

"We can't tranquilize him! He'll die in his sleep! We need to heal him now!"

"The stress the Emerald will put on him will be just as bad!"

"We have to risk it!"

Tears were streaming down Silver's face. He stared into the blinding light, mouthing silently, "No...no..." he didn't want to go back to the darkness...To Mephiles. He didn't want more pain.

"I have the Emerald,"

"Give it here."

Something was placed in Silver's hand. There was a split second of fear and confusion, and then his senses exploded with pain, plunging him into a darkened hell.

_Mephiles was waiting for him. _

_"Back so soon, are you?" he asked gleefully. _

**XxXxXxXx**

Shadow appeared about a mile from GUN's fortress.

The building loomed in the distance, yet their security spread outwards, particularly where Shadow was. A robot opened fired.

Shadow jumped into the air and threw a Chaos Spear at it, lodging in its head and destroying it in an explosion. Another one turned to confront him, and it was destroyed as easily as the first. Shadow took off towards the fortress in the distance, ignoring the entire army of robots following him. As soon as he made his way inside, he wouldn't have to worry about them.

Besides, his Chaos Energy levels had dropped again. He needed to find Omega and the pieces of his Inhibitor Ring.

Shadow spied the broken window he had leapt out of earlier. It was boarded up, but that didn't stop him from Homing Attacking his way up the wall and into the wooden planks, breaking them instantly. He flipped once and landed on his feet in the destroyed warehouse.

Much to his surprise, no one was around. Shadow cautiously walked towards the door and glanced into the hall. No one. Nothing.

"GUN must be slacking off." he muttered to himself. He was detecting a Chaos Emerald in the base. Perhaps if he found it, two Emeralds would help regulate his power. He would need it if he was to rescue Silver.

Shadow followed the energy signal down the hallway to his right, still mildly surprised no one confronted him yet. He knew he was walking right into a trap, yet he had no other options. The Chaos Energy was radiating up ahead, behind two steel doors. Shadow slammed one foot into a door, breaking it down.

He stepped into a large, dimly lit room, reminding him of a sort of gathering hall. Lights flickered on, illuminating the area. A door was across the room, the only one beside the one he had entered into. Shadow slowly began his way to the exit, ears straining for any telltale sound.

All at once, a flash of light took him by surprise. Shadow stumbled backwards as he tried to regain his sight. His ears picked up hard CLANKs around the room, as though something heavy was being dropped from a high distance. He blinked the last of the blinding light away and came face to face with a tight ring of robots, every one of them aiming their weapons at him.

Shadow tensed, ready to attack, as a voice cut through the room. "Put the Emerald down and you will be spared."

Shadow smirked. "What makes you think I am incapable of destroying these puny contraptions?"

"Let me rephrase that. Put the Emerald down and the hedgehog lives."

Two of the robots parted, making a path to the opposite door. Standing in the exit were two soldiers, one holding a gun and one supporting a limp white form.

"Don't you dare...! Leave him alone!" Shadow roared.

He turned toward the nearest robot and threw a Chaos Spear at it, the attack bouncing off and striking a wall. Shadow blinked, unsure of what he had just seen.

"Did I mention that these robots are Chaos proof?" the soldier with the gun grinned. "They were made to take you down. One last chance...Hand over the Emerald or I tear a hole through his head."

Shadow inwardly sighed. At least GUN had enough sense to use another of the Emeralds to heal Silver's injuries, but he had no idea how long they may have let him suffer before doing so. It looked as though they only used enough power to heal his worst injuries. Shadow could still see scars lining Silver's side and throat; some of his fur missing in large clumps.

"He is alive?" Shadow growled.

"Very much so." the soldier jabbed the end of his gun into Silver's stomach. The ivory hedgehog twitched violently, mouth opening and shutting with a slight groan.

Shadow tossed the Emerald at the soldiers. "Let him go."

"Thanks." the one with the gun said, stooping and retrieving the gem. "Now...neutralize Shadow the Hedgehog!"

The robots fired. Shadow was lucky to escape the hail of bullets alive, but his luck ran out when it came to injuries. A metal slug embedded itself in his leg, sinking into his muscle. His dodge was awkward and clumsy, but it was enough to save his life. He dodged another attack by rolling out of the way and taking shelter under another of the machines, desperately trying to buy time. Shadow's leg gave out and he collapsed to one knee, raising his head to meet the robots again.

They were reloading...drawing out his last moments.

"Any last words?" the soldier carrying Silver smirked. The other had left, taking the Emerald with him.

"Burn in hell..." Shadow growled.

He pushed off with his good leg, jumping into the air just high enough to curl up and homing attack. The robot's head snapped off and it fell, colliding with another. They both stood again—one damaged, one headless—and continued to fight. Shadow successfully Homing Attacked the others, popping off limbs and hacking off armor. Perhaps now Chaos Energy could penetrate their defenses?

Before he could act, a crushing claw clamped down on his injured leg. Shadow let out a strangled cry as his wound ground against metal as he robot lifted him into the air, upside-down.

"Prepare to die, Shadow." the soldier grinned. "And don't worry...your little friend will follow shortly after."

"No!" Shadow growled, thrashing in the robot's grasp. He could feel Chaos Energy building up again...overpowering and fueled by blind fury...

One of the robots raised a gun and forced it against his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. The Chaos power was too much to hold in...yet if he relieved the power, Silver would be seriously harmed.

The gun began to power up.

Shadow grit his teeth as the energy exploded off of him in a Chaos Blast, incinerating the robots.

He was dropped, weakened, to the cold floor. "Silver...!"

The soldier had tried to run, taking Silver with him. In the process, he had turned back toward the door, shielding the white hedgehog with his back. Silver had been spared the worst...hadn't he?

Shadow pulled himself forward, dragging his useless leg behind him. Silver was lying on his side, eyes half-closed as he tried desperately to focus on Shadow. Nearby was the scorched corpse of the GUN soldier, half his face melted away revealing white bone.

"Silver...! Silver! Say something!"

The white one coughed once before whimpering, "N...no...Shadow...I don't want to go back...he's waiting there...hurt me..."

"Who are you talking about? Silver, stay with me, ok? I'm going to get us out of here." Shadow struggled to his feet, ignoring the crushing agony in his leg. He bent to pick up the other injured hedgehog and stopped, his eyes widening in complete and total horror.

Silver's legs were gone, burned off at the knee. Blood pooled around scorched muscle, bone, skin and tendon, burned black by the intense Chaos energy. Shadow fell back to his knees.

"Silver...I'm sorry..."

"I don't want to go back...!" Silver cried, tears streaking his face. "He...he's there...pain...pain..."

"Who?" Shadow demanded, drawing the younger one closer, supporting his head. "Who's there?"

"M...Mephiles..." Silver wailed.

Shadow drew him into his arms, a single tear falling from his own eyes. "He won't harm you anymore, Silver. You're not going anywhere."

"Shadow... He's...here..."

"No, he isn't. Stop saying that. What would Blaze want?"

"Blaze...Blaze is here too..."

Shadow stared into his eyes as he shook his head slightly. "No, Silver, please. Stay with me...don't follow her. I know that sounds terrible, but you have to trust me."

"She's...fighting Mephiles...he's running away..."

"Silver, stop!"

"She wants me... to follow..."

"_SILVER_!"

"I'm going to...take her hand...ok, Shadow...?"

"NO! SILVER! NO! OH GOD, NO! SILVER! PLEASE DON'T DIE! NOT NOW!"

"She...says it's...ok now..."

"SILVER! DAMMIT, NOT YOU TOO! STOP IT! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE I HAVE LEFT!"

"...Sh...Shadow..."

The ebony hedgehog watched as Silver raised one shaking arm towards the ceiling and clenched it, as though holding onto something. A smile crossed his face for the last time.

His hand fell limp to the side, the life gone from his eyes.

"SILVER! _SILVER, NO_!" Shadow screamed, drawing the limp form tight onto his arms. "NO! DON'T DO THIS TO ME! GOD, PLEASE!"

Silver didn't respond.

For the first time in nearly 250 years, Shadow cried, the lifeless body of the white hedgehog that had fought alongside him many times clutched in his arms.

**XxXxXxXx**

**...  
**

Shadow didn't know how much time had passed.

All he knew was his sadness was eventually replaced with anger; anger at the GUN guards. Anger at them for killing all he had left. Anger at the wound in his leg they had inflicted on him.

He wanted to kill them.

Shadow reluctantly laid Silver's body back on the cold floor, placing the shard of his right Inhibitor Ring in one of his palms and closing his fingers around it. That done, he turned and limped from the room, fists clenched in fury as a red glow surrounded him.

He would kill them all.

**XxXxXxXx **

**I will not lie. I got so depressed after writing this I didn't want to talk to anyone for a day and a half. **

**Before you kill me, know that I had planned this for a while. It was really the only thing I saw as unavoidable...plus it motivates Shadow to finally take some serious action. Action that, ultimately, will bring the final chapter...  
**

**I still can't believe I killed my favorite character. **

**Remember to review. **

**Hasta la Vista, Readers.**

** Lordoftheghostking28**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

** I just decided to finish this story first...nonstop writing does things to you...**

** XxXxXxXx **

_Silver... _

Shadow turned towards a shout and silenced the voice forever without so much as a glance.

_You had so much to live for. So much to discover about the normal world. _

A cry for backup. Shadow jumped at the human and snapped his neck, letting him fall to the ground, dead.

_It is all my fault. I was an idiot for returning to GUN. Now I have lost everyone I hold dear...Maria, Rouge, you...even Sonic in a way. Dead..._

Another Chaos Blast rolled off his beaten body, the explosion vaporizing every human in the area. Shadow ignored the fatigue in his limbs and stumbled shakily on, tears mixing with bloody streaks down his face.

_You did not deserve this ending. I will avenge your soul._

Shadow let out a feral scream and launched himself at the commander, fists flying and connecting with the man's face. A Chaos Spear formed in his hand and he forced it into the human's heart, cutting his life short and leaving a burnt patch on his uniform. His eyes stared sightlessly ahead.

_Damn you all. _

_Damn you for taking everything I hold dear. Damn you for taking innocent lives. Damn you for killing young ones..._

Shadow stumbled to his knees, collapsing on his side. His breathing was labored, all energy sucked from his body from the fury that had fueled him. He wanted to die too...to see those who had gone before him...

_I'm sorry, Maria. I couldn't keep your promise. They were right about me...I am a monster. A monster who will fight until his last breath for the ones he held dear...the ones he loved._

The floor shook. Shadow lifted his head, eyes blurred by tears and rage. Standing in front of him was E-123 Omega. No weapons. Just standing.

"SHADOW." the machine said in a low tone.

Shadow lay his head back on the ground.

"SHADOW. I CANNOT LET YOU PROCEED. YOU MUST CEASE TO KILL. I AM SENT TO NEUTRALIZE YOU IN WHATEVER WAY I CAN. I OFFER YOU A CHANCE TO STOP."

_ Omega...you bastard...you didn't see what they did to Silver..._

Shadow didn't move. Omega made a move towards the fallen hedgehog, hesitating when a pained whimper left the ebony one's throat. Shadow clenched his fists and shakily stood, legs threatening to give out at any second.

"Omega..." he gasped. "Kill me,"

"I DO NOT UNDERSTAND,"

"Kill me! Dammit, KILL ME! I CAN'T LIVE ANYMORE! NOT AFTER THIS! NOT AFTER WHAT I JUST DID!" Shadow screamed.

His wounded leg buckled and he collapsed, falling to the ground in a heap. "Kill me..."

"SHADOW. I CANNOT DO THAT TO A FRIEND,"

More tears made their way out of Shadow's already red eyes. "What do you know?! You're only a machine! A machine built to destroy me! Live up to your expectations and do it!" with a scream of agony, loss and pain, Shadow hurled a Chaos Spear at Omega, catching his arm and throwing his balance off. Shadow found the energy to stand and limped towards the robot, his body glowing red with another Chaos Blast.

"I AM SORRY, SHADOW," Omega said.

His arms transformed into a machine gun and he fired upon the broken, hopeless and tortured hedgehog standing not ten feet away. Shadow felt bullets pierce his flesh, breaking his ribs and arms and punching through his stomach. He collapsed to the ground, unmoving, barely breathing, a thin trail of blood leaving his lips.

**...**

** ...**

Where...?

**...**

** ... **

No...no he was still clinging to life. The five new bullets were still burning. Shadow could feel his heart pounding and skipping beats, threatening to give out. He could feel his blood flowing from his veins, pumped up and out of his wounds. He was being carried by something large and sturdy. Omega.

Shadow opened his mouth but no sound came out, only a choked wheeze. Omega was saying something...and suddenly Shadow was being pulled away from him, gathered into the arms of a human.

A human!

Shadow twisted weakly, gritting his teeth together. A few sparks of energy flew from his fingers, but it was nowhere near enough to bring the man down. He went limp as someone clenched a hand around his throat. Orders were shouted, but Shadow couldn't hear anymore. All he could make out was a loud ringing. His eyes weren't working either. He couldn't move if he wanted to. And the pain was literally killing him. Blinding, searing pain.

His back was pressed into something, his arms spread out at his sides. Something clamped down over his ankles, securing him in place. Same for his wrists. Shadow blinked half-shut, nearly sightless eyes to see a pinkish energy surround his body like a mesh container, Omega standing outside his prison.

The energy spread to his head, knocking his consciousness out completely.

** ... **

**... **

He was somewhere dark. Somewhere with no end. The wounds from his body were gone, flesh and fur replacing them. He thought he heard a sound...

"Shadow..." a soft voice called.

Said hedgehog turned to see a dim light held by a young girl who couldn't be over twelve. He stumbled, mouth open in a gasp. "M...Maria..."

"I've missed you," the girl said, dropping to her knees and wrapping her arms around him. "I can't begin to tell you how difficult it was watching you go on..."

"Maria...am I dead?" Shadow was taken by slight surprise, but that didn't stop him from embracing the girl back.

"Your body lives, but your mind doesn't," Maria responded. "You'd just be a living shell left in GUN if you come with me."

"Where?"

"Where all is completed. The end of your mortal life. This is a new adventure...with everyone you have once known."

"Everyone?" Shadow glanced beyond her towards where the light was emitting.

Someone was standing there, a saddened look on his face. He immediately brightened when he spotted the other hedgehog. "Shadow!"

"Silver?" ebony finally broke the embrace with Maria and walked, as if in a trance, towards the ivory one. "Is that you...?"

"Yeah! Isn't this great? We're all together now! And Maria says there's great hills for sledding!" Silver giddily glanced around the darkened room. "Well...not here, anyway. We're still in your mind."

"...What?"

"I'll explain later." Maria laughed. "Right now, if you want to come with us, just step into the light. It'll take us where we want to go."

"What about what Mephiles said? He said that I was to be locked away in GUN when Iblis was released into the world...but that never happened."

"He was half right, in a way." Maria shrugged. "Even I'm not exactly sure."

Shadow turned back to Silver. "I'm sorry...for everything. You'd still be alive if it wasn't for me. I'm so sorry."

"No, even if you didn't kill me, GUN would have." Silver said. "I wasn't in pain or anything either. I was just terrified. And then Blaze came and chased Mephiles away, so I knew it was going to be all right."

"So what do you say, Shadow?" Maria asked. "Do you want to come with us?"

Shadow took one more glance around the dark room and nodded. "Anywhere but this hell I have been living in."

Maria smiled and took his hand. "Good! Let's go!"

They jumped into the light at the same time.

The first face Shadow saw on the Other Side belonged to none other than Sonic. The blue blur was bouncing on his tiptoes, a thrilled look on his face. "Want to race?"

Shadow couldn't suppress a laugh. Years and years after death hadn't changed him one bit. He nodded.

"All right! Last one to the lake has to take Silver sledding!" Sonic pointed in the distance, where a long row of beautiful trees stood.

"Then I won't lose." Shadow grinned. "And if I win, Maria, Rouge, Blaze, Tails, and Knuckles get to tag along. Including you."

"Seems fair!" Sonic agreed.

Shadow cast a glance at Maria, who laughed and said, "I'm always rooting for you! Kick his butt!"

"I intend to," Shadow smirked.

** ...**

** ...**

** ...**

Locked in the electric prison, Shadow's mortal heart skipped a beat and stopped. The monitors flatlined, tiny alarms blaring.

By the time the GUN medics had arrived, he was beyond saving.

Shadow the Hedgehog...was dead.

**XxXxXxXx**

**Oh, should have warned you, this is also rated M for characters dying in dramatic ways.**

** Anyway, this was the saddest fanfic I have ever written. I am dying on the inside right now.**

** At least they ended up happy... **

**Well, what do you think? Now that the story is done, YOU MUST REVIEW. I KNOW MORE THAN 5 OF YOU READ THIS, SO REVIEW. **

**Or Mephiles will get you. He's still out there somewhere... **

**Hasta la Vista, Readers. **

**Lordoftheghostking28**


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